String conditioning and preserving



June 30, 1959 H. c. RALLS, JR

' STRING CONDITIONING AND PRESERVING Filed Sept. 10, 1235s FIGJ wk m Z V MG War/ev- III II'I United States Patent 2,892,374 STRING CONDITIONING AND PRESERVING Harry C. Ralls, Jr., Webster Groves, Mo. Application September 10, 1956, Serial No. 608,696 4 Claims. (Cl. 84-297) This invention relates to the conditioning and preserving of wire Wound gut strings for musical instruments, particularly such instruments as the violin, viola and cello. Wire wound gut strings are made, as the name indicates, with a core of cat gut, upon which fine wire of nickel-silver, silver-plated copper or the like, is wound.

The superior qualities of fresh, i.e., recently made strings, over those which have aged, in use or disuse, have always been recognized by musicians. The sensitiveness of gut to changes in humidity is well known.

I have postulated that the deterioration with age of wire wound gut strings is due in large measure to the shrinking of the gut core within the-Wire winding. The problem posed by this postulate is made difiicult by the use to which the strings are put. It is essential that any treatment of the strings must not interfere with the action of the bow on the strings. This precludes the use of an oily preservative for the gut which might be exuded through the wire binding. It also precludes a slic impermeable coating on the wire itself because the coating would inhibit the action of the rosin coated horsehair of the bow. Also, if a part of such a coating were removed, either deliberately or by the continued abrasion of the bow, the string would be likely to exhibit peculiar characteristics, since a part of the gut would be exposed to atmospheric moisture, to which, as has been noted, gut is sensitive. It would also seem to preclude the use of a stiff or inelastic coating or filler material, since the string is necessarily stretched, vibrated and deflected in use.

One of the objects of this invention is to provide a method of treating Wire wound gut strings to preserve the solid, full-bodied tone of fresh strings even after extended periods of use or disuse, without interfering with the playability of the string.

Another object is to provide a string, treated in accordance with the method of this invention, which is less sensitive to variations in humidity than untreated strings, which retains the tone of a fresh string over long periods of time, and which last longer than untreated strings, before the gut breaks or the wire winding becomes loose or irregular.

Other objects will become apparent to those skilled in the art in the light of the following description.

In accordance with this invention, generally stated, I have discovered that these various objects can be accomplished by soaking wound strings in a solution containing oil and gums exemplified by certain violin varnishes; cleaning the outside surface of the wire binding, and drying the soaked strings.

A resilient string soaked in a solution containing a varnish and permitted to dry would be expected to be stiff and dead sounding, with its life impaired and its characteristics unpredictable. Oddly, the strings of this invention have a full fresh tone, their lives are considerably increased, and their characteristics are more dependable than untreated strings.

In the drawing,

2,892,374 Patented June 30, 1959 Figure 1 is a diagram indicating steps of the process of this invention; and

Figure 2 is a much enlarged fragmentary view, partly in section, showing a wire wound gut musical instrument string of this invention being cleaned, the upper part of the string appealing as it does in finished condition.

Referring to Figure 2 of the drawing for an illustrative example of a string of this invention, reference numeral 1 indicates the treated string, which, in this example, consists of a core 2 of gut, a wire winding 3, and varnish 4. The varnish 4 occupies the interstices be tween successive turns of the wire winding 3, as well as the space between the wire winding 3 and the gut core 2. The outermost surface 5 of the wire winding 3 is free of varnish.

As an illustrative example of the method of this invention by which the string of Figure 2 may be produced, wire wound gut strings may be treated as follows:

A solution of equal parts of methyl alcohol and a varnish consisting of:

is heated to the boiling point; The heating is discontinued, and the strings are placed in the hot solution to soak. The strings are preferably permitted to remain in the solution, which cools to room temperature, for at least twelve hours. The strings are then removed from the solution and drained, and the outside surface of the wire winding is wiped clean and dry, for which purpose an alcohol-dampened 010th may be used. The strings are then hung in a well ventilated place at room temperature for approximately four weeks, or until thoroughly dry.

I have used violin D and G strings treated in this manner for over a year. Their tone has remained excellent and the strings show no sign of deterioration.

Other formulae of the varnish component may be used. Examples of other varnishes are as follows:

Parts Amber, fused 2 Oil of turpentine 5 Drying linseed-oil 5 II Amber, fused 4 Lac 1 Drying linseed-oil 4 Oil of turpentine 8 III Clear and pale African copal 1 Pale drying-oil 2 Rectified oil of turpentine 3 IV Whlte resin (also known as Indian copal or gum animi) 16 Plum tree gum 2 Venetian turpentine 1 Linseed-oil 2 V Gum-mastic 2 Venetian turpentine 1 VI Linseed-oil l2 Juniper gum 2 Aloes hepatica 1 VII Gum-mastic 2 3 Gum juniper u- 2 Linseed-oil 3 Spirits of wine 3 The length of time for which the strings should he soaked, and the drying time, depend upon the varnish constituent used, and to some extent upon the size of the string. A cello C string, for example, or bass viol string, should be permitted to soak and dry longer than a violin string. Additional soaking (for example, thirty-six hours) and drying (for example six weeks) of a violin string seems to have no detrimental effect on the string, but in the interest of economy of time, the optimum time for a particular size or kind of string and type of varnish constituent can be determined by simple observation.

Numerous variations in the process and product of this invention, Within the scope of the appended claims, will occur to those skilled in the art in the light of the foregoing disclosure. For example, cellulose ester (cg, cellulose nitrate or cellulose acetate) type with or without pigment, may be used when a quick-drying impregnant is desired, although such lacquers appear to produce a less pronounced and permanent effect upon the treated strings than the natural varnishes which form the preferred embodiments. The term lacquer is used in the claims as the term is defined in Hackhs Chemical Dictionary, second edition, to embrace both the natural and synthetic lacquer.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. The process of making a Wire-wound gut musical instrument string, comprising winding a gut core with metallic wire, thereafter soaking said Wound string in a warm varnish solution, penetrating the interstices between the turns of the wire winding and filling the interstices between the gut core and the wire and between 4 the successive turns of wire with said varnish solution, removing the excess varnish solution from the exterior surface of the wire winding, and drying the said string for a sufiicient length of time to dry the varnish located in said interstices.

2. The process of claim 1 wherein the varnish solution consists of an alcoholic solution of natural gum and linseed oil.

3. The process of claim 1 wherein the varnish solution consists of an alcoholic solution of instrument varnish, the string is soaked for approximately twelve hours and the string is dried for approximately four weeks.

4. The process of making a wire-wound gut musical instrument string, comprising winding a gut core with metallic wire, thereafter soaking said wound string in a solution of organic coating material taken from the group consisting of varnish and lacquer, penetrating the interstices between the turns of the wire winding and filling the interstices between the gut core and the wire and between the successive turns of wire with said solution, removing the excess solution from the exterior surface of the wire winding, and drying the said string for a sufficient length of time to dry the organic coating located in said interstices.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 699,541 Lutz May 6, 1902 1,187,962 Barstow June 20, 1916 1,772,846 Spolidoro Aug. 12, 1930 2,637,659 Miller May 5, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS 164 Great Britain Jan. 19, 1870 

